Cooker, power control method of the cooker, and power control system having the same

Abstract

A cooker, a method for controlling power of a cooker, and a power control system including the same are provided. A high power cooking device can be used without making an additional power construction work or causing a power circuit breaker installed in an input terminal of a household power source to be opened. Driving power of a burner is controlled or distributed by using a current flowing in a power circuit breaker or an overcurrent breaker installed in a load end, whereby power operation efficiency of an input power source can be enhanced and the input power source cannot be broken.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A cooker comprising:
 one or more burners having an induction heating coil and a resonant capacitor, and configured to heat a container; 
 a power supply unit configured to convert input power of an input power source into driving power and configured to supply the driving power to the one or more burners according to a control signal; and 
 a control unit configured to generate the control signal based on input current information regarding an input current of the input power source, and output the control signal to the power supply unit to control the driving power with respect to the one or more burners, 
 wherein the input power source is shared with a plurality of other home appliances, and 
 wherein the cooker is configured to calculate power consumption of the plurality of other home appliances. 
 
     
     
       2. The cooker of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a communication unit configured to receive the input current information. 
 
     
     
       3. The cooker of  claim 2 , wherein when a single burner is provided, the control unit controls the driving power by changing a frequency of the control signal. 
     
     
       4. The cooker of  claim 2 , wherein when two or more burners are provided, the control unit distributes the driving power to the burners. 
     
     
       5. The cooker of  claim 4 , wherein when two or more burners are provided, the control unit sets priority of the burners, and reduces the driving power by changing the frequency of the control signal in an order starting from the lowest priority. 
     
     
       6. The cooker of  claim 1 , wherein the power supply unit comprises:
 a converter configured to convert an input voltage from the input power source; 
 a smoothing unit configured to smooth an output DC voltage; and 
 an inverter configured to convert the output DC voltage from the smoothing unit into a driving voltage of the driving power. 
 
     
     
       7. The cooker of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 a circuit breaker configured to break a power line of the input power source when the input current is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference current. 
 
     
     
       8. The cooker of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a current detection unit connected to the communication unit according to a wired/wireless communication scheme and configured to detect the input current, generate the input current information, and transmit the generated input current information to the communication unit. 
 
     
     
       9. A power control system comprising:
 a power circuit breaker installed in a power line of an input power source, and configured to break the power line when an input current from the input power source is an overcurrent; 
 an input current detection unit configured to detect the input current and transmit input current information by using a wired/wireless communication scheme; and 
 a home appliance driven upon receiving input power from the input power source, 
 wherein the home appliance includes a cooker having one or more burners and controlling driving power with respect to the one or more burners based on the input current information such that the input current cannot be an overcurrent, 
 wherein the input power source is shared with a plurality of other home appliances, and 
 wherein the cooker is configured to calculate power consumption of the plurality of other home appliances and a control unit is configured to control the driving power based on the input current information. 
 
     
     
       10. A power control system comprising:
 a home appliance driven upon receiving power from an input power source; and 
 a power detection unit connected to the input power source, detecting an input current from the input power source and transmitting input current information to the home appliance, and measuring consumed power of the home appliance, 
 wherein the home appliance includes a cooker having one or more burners and controlling driving power with respect to the one or more burners based on the input current information, 
 wherein the input power source is shared with a plurality of other home appliances, and 
 wherein the cooker is configured to calculate power consumption of the plurality of other home appliances and a control unit is configured to control the driving power based on the input current information. 
 
     
     
       11. The power control system of  claim 10 , wherein the power detection unit comprises a power circuit breaker installed in a power line of the input power source, and breaks the power line when the input current is an overcurrent. 
     
     
       12. The power control system of  claim 10 , wherein the power line of the input power source is branched into two or more load power lines, and further comprising:
 a plurality of overcurrent breakers installed in respective load power lines, and breaking the load power lines when respective load currents flowing along the load power lines are equal to or greater than a predetermined reference current. 
 
     
     
       13. The power control system of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a load current detection unit installed between the overcurrent breaker and the home appliance, configured to detect the load current, and transmit load current information regarding the load current to the home appliance. 
 
     
     
       14. A method for controlling power of a cooker including one or more burners having an induction heating coil and a resonant capacitor and heating a container, the method comprising:
 detecting an input current from an input power source; 
 comparing the input current with a predetermined reference current; and 
 when the input current is less than the reference current, controlling driving power with respect to the one or more burners, 
 wherein the method further comprising: 
 calculating power consumption of other home appliances sharing the input power, 
 wherein the controlling of the driving power comprises: 
 setting predetermined reference power consumption under a condition that the input current is maintained below the reference current; 
 comparing the sum of the power consumption and the driving power with the reference power consumption; and 
 when the sum of the power consumption and the driving power is equal to or greater than the reference power consumption, reducing the driving power. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , wherein, in the controlling of the driving power, when a single burner is provided, the driving power is controlled by changing a frequency of the control signal for driving the burner. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the controlling of the driving power comprises:
 when two or more burners are provided, setting priority of the burners; and 
 reducing the driving power by changing the frequency of the control signal for driving the burners in an order starting from the lowest priority. 
 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 converting input a voltage of the input power source into a DC voltage; 
 smoothing the converted DC voltage; and 
 converting the smoothed DC voltage into a driving voltage of the driving power. 
 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 when the input current is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference current, breaking a power line of the input power.